0023 27 "What the hell is going on?!"
In the Suzhou Military Region, the plane trees lining the streets are still lush and green, and the cicadas are chirping much quieter.
“That night we were training in the barracks. There were targets in the barracks and we usually fired guns, so when the gunshots rang out, although I was startled, I didn’t think much of it.”
The man in the military uniform with several stars on his shoulder insignia is named Li Liqun. He is a regimental commander in the Suzhou Military Region, a lieutenant colonel at the regimental level.
At this moment, Li Liqun was sitting in the interrogation room, honestly answering questions.
"Was it someone who came out shouting, 'General Wu is in trouble,' that made you stop training and run to the room where the general is?" Zhou Pei looked down at the other people's statements before looking up at Li Liqun.
Li Liqun nodded. "I thought the general's heart condition had flared up again, and he hadn't brought his medication or they couldn't find it. When I ran into the house, I saw that he was covered in blood..." He paused and lowered his head. "I wanted to call a doctor, but General Wu's wife, Hu Jing, closed the door and only told us to promise not to reveal a single word after we left before she would let us out."
Zhou Pei frowned and pursed his lips. "Did everyone in the room agree?"
Li Liqun shook his head. "No, there was one person, General Wu's adopted son, Huang Minglei. He disagreed, saying he wanted to report it and find out who killed his father..." He seemed to be in great pain, touching his hair and twitching his toes. "Then Hu Jing took out a gun and shot Huang Minglei in the leg. We were all terrified..."
He licked his lips, his eyes filled with anxiety, his fingers clenched tightly. "Can I have a cigarette?"
Zhou Pei nodded, and a moment later the door behind him opened, and someone handed him a cigarette. Li Liqun held the cigarette in his mouth, his hand trembling as he lit it, until he took the first puff and exhaled before calming down a bit.
“It’s not that we were terrified, but rather, we are all veterans from the Korean War…we have that condition called PTSD, and sometimes we instinctively get scared when we hear gunfire, let alone see Hu Jing shooting someone…”
After saying that, he raised his hand and wiped his face.
"...When we came out of the house, no one mentioned it, but Huang Minglei was locked inside. Hu Jing came out, locked the door from the outside, and locked the two of them together..." Li Liqun finished speaking and took another drag of his cigarette. "No wonder that kid has mental problems now. Being with a corpse for two days, neither of them is normal..."
Zhou Pei nodded, turned to look at the mirror beside him, and heard someone in his earpiece say, "Okay, let him go."
"Lieutenant Colonel Li, thank you for your cooperation, but you cannot leave the barracks yet."
Zhou Pei and Li Liqun stood up at the same time. "Okay, just come to me if you need anything..." The two shook hands, and Li Liqun walked out first.
A short while later, General Jiang also came out of the room behind the mirror, his hands behind his back, with a dignified demeanor.
“General Jiang, the situation is similar; what he said matches the testimonies of the other people.”
Zhou Pei walked to General Jiang's side and said, "We can interrogate Hu Jing now."
"I'll interrogate him with you. Let Xiao Liang go first."
Xiao Liang was the deputy officer who had just been sitting next to Zhou Pei taking notes.
The two went back into the room. When Hu Jing was brought up, she was handcuffed. Her hair was gray, her clothes were neat, and her face was expressionless, the usual demeanor of someone in a position of power.
“Madam Wu…” Zhou Pei had just begun to speak when Hu Jing looked at him, his eyes like sharp swords, “Call me General Hu, how come I’ve become Madam Wu just because we’re married?”
Zhou Pei raised his hand and touched his nose. "General Hu, could you tell me what happened that day?"
Hu Jing sat in his chair with his back straight. "It's very simple. Old Wu was shot and killed because of partisan conflict. Someone wanted us to choose a side, and when we didn't agree, they killed him."
General Jiang frowned. "Then why didn't I kill you?"
“This is a warning. Next time it will be me,” Hu Jing paused. “In my family…including the Suzhou Military Region, my voice carries more weight than Lao Wu’s. This is a warning.”
"Why didn't you report it? Why did you try to suppress the news immediately?" Zhou Pei asked.
Hu Jing smiled helplessly, "It's no use. I need to find out who is in charge of Lao Wu's death. If it's someone I don't trust, I won't report it. I'll just burn Lao Wu's body and choose my side directly."
General Jiang curled his lip, "Such a ruthless heart... Who killed Old Wu, and who made you choose sides?"
Hu Jing smiled at them, "I can't say."
"Why?" Zhou Pei asked, puzzled.
Hu Jing looked at him, his eyes filled with concern for the child... or perhaps contempt, "You will have to choose sooner or later whether to be enemies or friends, and I don't want to take the risk."
"I won't make any choice..." Zhou Pei hadn't finished speaking when Hu Jing interrupted him, "Old Chiang, your choice of successor is no good, too naive. In political struggle, it's a life-or-death struggle, there's no such thing as neutrality..."
General Jiang shook his head and remained silent.
Hu Jing looked at Zhou Pei and said, "What else do you want to ask? It's almost lunchtime."
Unable to get any information out of her, they had no choice but to release her. After Hu Jing left, General Jiang remained silent. Zhou Pei thought for a moment and then spoke up: "She should be safer inside than outside. She's very cunning."
General Jiang laughed upon hearing this, "She's always been cunning..."
"Shall we ask again tomorrow?"
General Jiang shook his head. "I know her. If she doesn't want to say something, she won't say it no matter what..." He sighed and patted Zhou Pei on the shoulder. "It's not that she's safe inside. She's taking advantage of me to do whatever she wants."
Zhou Pei was taken aback. General Jiang smiled shyly, a smile Zhou Pei had never seen before, and said, "When we were young, we were a couple."
"..."
As the two walked out, Zhou Pei skipped the topic, saying, "There weren't many cameras leading to the general's office to begin with, and two were left out due to security concerns. We can't identify the murderer now, nor can we determine who forced them to take sides."
General Jiang put his hands behind his back and said, "Once Huang Minglei is feeling better, we'll ask him what happened."
Zhou Pei nodded beside him, when suddenly the general said, "Are you aware that the Suzhou Public Security Bureau wants to get involved in this matter?"
"Know."
General Jiang snorted coldly, "They dare to meddle in military affairs...acting recklessly..."
Upon reaching the outside of the military camp, soldiers were drilling in the distance. The afternoon sun was scorching, and beads of sweat seeped from their dark skin.
The two stood under the tree for a while. General Jiang turned to look at Zhou Pei and said, "This morning I received a call from home. Your sister, Zhou Xiye, came to our house... saying that you haven't been in contact with her?"
Upon hearing his sister's name, Zhou Pei raised his hand to touch his nose, then smiled slightly, "We talk on the phone every day..."
General Jiang chuckled. "Come on, let's go back to the office... Jiang Yanci even asked me if I had bullied you... What a joke..."
Jiang Yanci is General Jiang's daughter. Under the general's gaze, Zhou Pei shook his head, "How could that be?"
The general nodded. "Right? Call her right now and tell her how I've treated you... That brat always slanders me..."
Zhou Pei smiled wryly; it turned out he wanted him to contact Jiang Yanci. He had no romantic feelings for Jiang Yanci. "General, I heard Jiang Yanci say last time that she has a boyfriend. Would it be inappropriate for me to call her?"
The general paused, "Huh? You have a boyfriend? How come I didn't know? Hey? When did she tell you...?"
Zhou Pei patiently answered all of his questions.
When I arrived at the office, the television was playing the news. It was about Ling Xingzhi holding a symposium at the Mentougou government, mainly to deal with government corruption and the demolition issue.
The general poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then sat down, tapping the television. "Ling Xingzhi is a good kid. He's quite capable. He managed to reorganize Mentougou in no time... At least he does something practical. He's much more reliable than his father."
Zhou Pei glanced at Ling Xingzhi on the TV without any expression, then sat in the main seat, playing the role of someone approachable.
"Zhou Pei, I'll have to go back to Beijing in a while. I still need to coordinate the military parade there. People from all the military regions will be there... I'll leave this to you. Don't be afraid of them. I'll give you special privileges!"
After the general finished speaking, Zhou Pei nodded.
After leaving the office, Zhou Pei called Zhou Xiye. The phone rang only twice before she answered, "What is it?"
Zhou Pei's eyes crinkled with laughter. "Sister, why did you tell them I wasn't contacting you? Was one phone call a day not enough? Then let's have camera sex every day!"
Zhou Xiye had just taken a sip of water when he almost choked. "No, no... I didn't mean that... How are you doing in Suzhou? Don't get involved in their infighting. The general will cover for you, so just stay out of the way and be careful..."
As Zhou Pei listened to Zhou Xiye's ramblings, all the caution and weariness in his eyes disappeared.
General Chiang left Suzhou earlier than he expected; something had happened in Beijing.
"Just two days ago I was saying that the order was reliable, but the military parade has gone completely wrong!"
General Jiang was cursing in his office when he picked up the phone and dialed. The moment the call connected, his fierce brows suddenly softened. "Xiao Ling, right? Yes, this is Jiang Yunpeng. That tank model... right, why are there photos of it all over the internet?"
"Luckily, it wasn't a top-secret weapon... sigh... yeah..."
After finishing his call with Ling Xingzhi, Jiang Yunpeng's brows, eyes, and nose furrowed again. "What the hell is going on?!"
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There will be another update tonight!
I need a piggy!
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